


Wrong Turn

by lykelee171, oobijor



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Bittersweet, Don't want to spoil it here, Eventual Smut, M/M, Nielwink are a thing, Nielwink breakup ?, Onghwang arent, a bit of angst, yet?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2019-03-03
Packaged: 2019-09-05 16:06:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16813951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lykelee171/pseuds/lykelee171, https://archiveofourown.org/users/oobijor/pseuds/oobijor
Summary: Sometimes, desperate measures must be taken to matchmake 2 stubborn souls together.  But at what cost?Established couple Nielwink breaks up and all hell breaks loose





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is our first collab fic together! We didn't have time to complete it but we will eventually! 
> 
> (Nikki: "I always complete my fics ;)") 
> 
> Anyway, happy Nielwink month!
> 
> (Not edited)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have reuploaded the chapters because I (Nikki) was not satisfied with the flow and the writing and I was just so URGH haha 
> 
> I have edited it and it is SO much better so I hope you reread it!

"Jihoon-ah!" Daniel called out through the phone. "I'm sorry, I did wrong...please take me back...I miss you..."    
  
Jihoon's heart broke upon hearing the elder's voice from the receiver. He desperately wanted to be by Daniel’s side to wipe his tears away. But he stayed strong, wary of Seongwu's watchful gaze on him. "You are only saying that because you are drunk. You won't miss me when you sober up tomorrow."    
  
"Jihoon-ah please take me back. I can't live without you!" Daniel slurred but still managing to sound pitifully desperate.   
  
Jihoon struggled to control his breathing, keeping his voice even to deliver his lines, "You broke up with me remember? You don't get to say these things just when I'm starting to feel okay."   
  
Jihoon's eyes welled up with tears when he heard Daniel's sobs. He was inwardly glad that he couldn't see Daniel right now because he was sure that seeing the usually confident and charismatic Daniel so broken would definitely kill him. Seongwu cradled the smaller boy in his arms, gently rocking him as he sniffed. Jihoon painfully bit his lips but whimpers still managed to slip out.    
  
"Jihoon-ah," Seongwu murmured. "Maybe you should end the call."    
  
Jihoon shook his head stubbornly, clinging onto his phone for dear life. He needed to know Daniel would be alright. He took a deep breath and spoke calmly, "Niel-ah, go home with Minhyun hyung ok? Drink plenty of water and sleep."   
  
On the other hand of the call, Daniel was definitely a mess, snot mixed with his tears smearing across his whole face. Minhyun stared at the distraught man reduced into a lost boy. How did their relationship turn sour like this? They had been the couple Minhyun secretly envied and seeing them in this state got Minhyun shell-shocked. Daniel still seemed very in love with Jihoon, then why did they break up?

* * *

  
  
  
  


“We have to do something about this,” Minhyun said after meeting Seongwu the next day at their University’s cafe. “I was with Niel and he was dead drunk. You know he is as strong as a bull when it comes to alcohol. So seeing him so drunk and disorientated for the first time scares me. I don’t think I can bear to witness Daniel so broken again.”

“You should have seen Jihoon,” Seongwu replied, warming the mug between his two hands, chills still travelled down his spine as he thought about Jihoon’s state last night. “You know Jihoon never cries. Yesterday, my heart broke because of how distraught he was. I don’t think it is a good idea to put him through anything like that again. I can’t bear it. I don’t want to see Jihoonie like that again. If you had seen him, you would agree with me on this one.”

Minhyun sighed. “But we are all friends… It's going to be awkward if we hang out together.”

“Do you think we can help get them back together? Or at least become friends again?”

Minhyun scratched his chin in thought. “Let’s try to do that. Get them comfortable with each other again first maybe. But first, we have to find out why they broke up in the first place. Did Jihoon say anything?”

“Jihoon kept mum the whole time and because he was crying, I didn’t dare to ask. Every time I mentioned Daniel’s name, he would cry even more,” Seongwu explained, hands pulling at his face as he recalled the younger’s whimpers yanking at his heartstrings.

“Daniel was too wasted last night so I didn’t get an answer either,” Minhyun said. “Let’s try to find that out first then we decide how to go from there?”

  
  


* * *

Daniel had a hard earned reputation of being a flirty playboy. He had casual flings every other weekend and claimed that none of them ever gave him the heart palpitations all the love stories and films described. He never believed in love, let alone love at first sight. He believed in  **lust** ; that was what drove all the ladies into his lane every weekend. He believed that his opinions will never change, at least not until Jihoon. 

He knew Jihoon was the one when he saw him first. He couldn't describe what it was that made him feel so much on first glimpse but he remembered that Jihoon's beauty rendered him mesmerised, frozen in his spot as if time stopped for a moment for him.

He remembered his heart pounding against his chest, almost like the onset of an anxiety attack and yet he felt so serene. With the cool gentle breeze tickling the tips of his ears, everything just felt right.

This was the right time.  _ The right moment. _ Daniel thought.

It wasn't too warm or too cold, but it was the perfect setting for Daniel to fall in deep. And yes, it was all because of one glance at the young male at the bus stop. Who would believe him if Daniel told anyone? And so ot remained his best kept secret.

Till this day, even Jihoon had no clue. He often teased Daniel about his reputation before meeting him, scrowled whenever their friends retold stories of Daniel's (p.s. sex) escapades. 

But Daniel still revisits that first memory of his first “meeting” with Jihoon. The skies are real blue that day, the sun bright but not scorching and the wind gentle. It was almost as if he was given a sign from the heavens, granting Daniel permission to proceed.

Daniel admired Jihoon from afar, never once taking a step forward to speak to the male. Very uncharacteristic of him, Daniel thought. It was almost as if he was… god forbid… shy? With the sunlight shining in all the right spots, or maybe it’s because the boy lacked any bad angles, Daniel was awed. How was it even possible that someone so beautiful exists?

And then both of them boarded the same bus. Daniel scrambled to score the seat right behind the mop of fluffy brown hair. He continued to stare and noticed that Jihoon had very broad shoulders despite his relatively smaller stature. Daniel imagined what it would be like to wrap his arms around the cute boy’s shoulders, or how comfortable it would be to lay his head on those shoulders. He dreamed of the day he could proudly call the most beautiful guy on Earth his. 

Daniel was shocked by his own thoughts. How was he so whipped for a stranger who he’s just met?

Was this what love was? The bullet to the chest? It happened so fast that Daniel never even stood a chance. He lost track of all time, lost in his thoughts, but Daniel didn’t care anymore where he was heading. All he knew was wherever Jihoon goes, he would follow. If he missed his first day of school, he would just deal with the administration tomorrow.

But perhaps Lady Luck was indeed on his side because Jihoon got up and alighted at the familiar bus stop: Seoul National University. Call Daniel a fool but his heart soared when he realised the endless possibilities. Thank the gods for this life!

He continued to tail the shorter male gingerly, hoping that he wouldn’t find Daniel creepy. Then his best friend, Minhyun, swung his arm around Daniel’s shoulders to interrupt his pursuit. 

_ Maybe next time _ , Daniel thought,  _ if they were truly meant to be _

**Hell** , Daniel never really care about fate or destiny in the first place. Daniel knew that he would eventually take matters into his own hands, he would ensure that it happens even if the gods forbid. 

But maybe he should start worshipping the gods of fate and destiny, for that “next time” happened way earlier than expected. 

Daniel and his friends attended the Freshmen’s Welcoming Party and were determined to spice things up. It was their jobs after all, to give the clueless first years their first true college party experience.

Looking back it was really well-planned; some of them got their professors distracted by asking questions about homeworks and projects as they spiked the drinks. They even went as far as to disguising liquor into inconspicuous bottles No one suspected a thing. Well until the seemingly tamed freshmen class turned into wild party animals. The plan was simple and foolproof…until a certain freshman crept by Daniel’s side, curious as to what Daniel was doing.

And that freshman was the same male who stole Kang Daniel’s heart days ago. This time, his heart leapt into his throat because Jihoon was much closer, looking back a him with those sparkly brown eyes framed with those fluttering soft lashes. Daniel shook his head, shaking away the feeling of the predrinks they had prior. Maybe if he should just touch Jihoon to see if he was real…

“Hey, I’m asking you,” The guy spoke, drawing Daniel into another daze, mouth agape, now enamoured with how Jihoon’s voice sounded. “What are you adding to the punch?”

Jihoon must have grown tired of waiting for Daniel’s response as he snatched the bottle of alcohol from Daniel’s hands and took a whiff. 

Jihoon smiled. Back then Daniel thought it was the most angelic thing he had ever seen but he now knew better that that mischievous grin was an early sign of pure evil.

“So, how do I help?,” Jihoon asked, eyes glowing with mischief.

And in that moment, Daniel knew he was a goner; hell, he was already mentally planning their wedding.

“You never asked but I’m Park Jihoon by the way,” he introduced as he extended his palms up for a handshake.

Finally, a name to this beautiful face, Daniel sighed internally. Park Jihoon, what a beautiful name like its owner.

He hastily grabbed Jihoon’s hand and stammered, “I’m D-Daniel.” 

He flashed his dazzling smile, hoping his charms will work on him. It had worked countless times before in the past, albeit for women.

But it must have worked because Jihoon smiled back and boldly pinched his cheek. “You’re so cute!” 

And that was where their story truly begun, lacing all the fruit punch at the Freshmen’s Welcome Party with vodka. 

They watched as the whole class spiralled out of control, making fools of themselves. They enjoyed each other’s company under the beautiful night sky. 

And somehow, they ended up falling asleep in each others’ arms. 

This was the first memory both of them shared, and it was definitely treasured even till today.


	2. Chapter 2

A sour taste coated Jihoon’s tongue as he witnessed the scene unfold before him. It was the first time he had seen Daniel all week and Jihoon was not pleased. Watching the scene in front of him, no one would believe that the Daniel in front of him was crying hysterically days ago, begging for Jihoon to take him back. No, this Daniel was surrounded by a flock of girls clamouring for his attention. 

Jihoon scoffed, Daniel was a better actor than he had initially given him credit for; he nearly fell for it there. It seemed that Daniel was enjoying the attention he received, smiling to all the girls and even allowing them access to his arm. 

And those girls… They sure moved quickly; it had barely been a week since the news of their breakup and they were already ready to pounce. Or maybe they had always been on the sidelines, waiting. 

Jihoon inconspicuously rolled his eyes, anxiously chewing on his lower lip.

“Yah, are you listening to me?” Donghan waved his hand in front of Jihoon’s face, “I asked you if you wanted to get something to eat. I can see you are beginning to look  _ hangry _ .”

Jihoon’s attention snapped back to the male in front of him, face now lit up with a bright smile. 

“Your treat?” Jihoon blinked, willing his cute face to work its magic like it used to back when they were dating.

“You are doing it again,” Donghan pinched Jihoon’s nose between his fingers. “Those darn puppy eyes. You know I cannot say no to that!”

Jihoon broke out into a fit of laughter, dodging Donghan’s attempts to cover Jihoon’s eyes with his free hand, his other still grabbing Jihoon’s nose of course. 

Then, a sharp pain shot through Jihoon’s nose as Donghan’s hand was ripped off of Jihoon’s face. A tall shadow towered over the pair. Jihoon rubbed his nose instinctively and looked up, only to see Daniel’s fierce penetrating gaze directed at Donghan. 

“Get your filthy hands off him,” Daniel spoke, voice sending chills down Jihoon’s spine.

Like any typical alpha male, Donghan defiantly rose from his seat, chin tilted upwards toward the elder in an act of rebellion. As if taunting Daniel, what are you going to do about it?

Sensing the waves of anger rumbling off Daniel, Jihoon stood and pushed Daniel back. “We have  _ broken up _ remember?” enunciating those two words specially for Daniel to hear. Then, Jihoon hastily reached for Donghan’s hand and ran off, leaving Daniel alone, simmering in anger in the courtyard.

* * *

_ Did Jihoon just leave with Donghan?  _ Minhyun thought, fully aware that the latter still had lingering feelings for Jihoon. He had considered approaching his fuming best friend but decided against it, knowing that his involvement would be of no use. He wouldn’t have been able to calm Daniel down anyway. 

_ Only Jihoon could. _

  
Just a cute little smile was all it took to put out the flames like a fire blanket. But now that Jihoon was seemingly the cause of the fire, how was he to deal with this?

Minhyun whipped out his phone to call someone he had been spending way too much time with recently, “Seongwu-ah, we have another incident.”

\---

Jihoon could hear the familiar tone of his front door as it unlocked. The figure bent down to undo his shoelaces but Jihoon paid him no mind, keeping his attention focused on the television screen. He could feel the irritation nibbling at his nerves, the aftereffect of the events that had happened earlier that day. 

Daniel strolled towards the sofa Jihoon was sitting on and pulled Jihoon into a backhug. Daniel dipped his lips to kiss the back of Jihoon’s ear, but Jihoon pulled away. Dejected, Daniel rested his chin on top of Jihoon’s shoulder. 

“I missed you,” Daniel murmured against Jihoon’s neck, inhaling Jihoon’s scent. “Can I stay here tonight?”

JIhoon huffed, still not sparing Daniel a glance. 

Daniel detached his arms from Jihoon in confusion and walked around the sofa before plopping beside him. He spun Jihoon to face him, hands resting habitually on Jihoon’s hips. Daniel tried to search Jihoon’s eyes for the reason for his hostility but Jihoon refused to meet his gaze.    
  
“If you don’t talk, I won’t know what’s wrong,” Daniel said, hands gently caressing Jihoon’s thigh.

“Your actions earlier, was it really all an act?” Jihoon whispered, eyebrows furrowed but pupils finally looking at Daniel. “Your anger because I was hanging out with Donghan hyung earlier. Why do I feel like it wasn’t an act?”

Daniel slowly retracted his arms to hug himself, hoping that this would help to hold himself together somehow. “I haven’t seen you for a long time, must we really talk about this?”

“You wanted me to talk.”   
  


“Okay then, we talk,” Daniel sigh, exasperated. “Like I said, it has been a while since I’ve seen you and I miss you so much. But the first time I see you all week and you are hanging out with Donghan? Your ex? Of course I got mad.”

“You know that there is no feelings between us,” Jihoon rolled his eyes, annoyed because they have had many arguments like this before. About Donghan. “You know that he is a very important friend to me.”   
  


“You may not have feelings for him anymore, but you used to. And he definitely still likes you. Of course I would be angry!” The volume of Daniel’s voice raised a decibel, but Jihoon noticed it. 

“So you were angry!” Jihoon grew angry himself. “You were angry with me? Because you think that my ex who I am friends with still had feelings for me? How does that logic add up?”

Daniel groaned in frustration but that seemed to anger Jihoon more. “You are one to talk when you were basically flirting back to those girls before then too!”

Daniel scoffed, “I didn’t even know them!”

“And you let them hold onto your arm?”

“What was I supposed to do otherwise? Push them off me?” Daniel spoke almost condescendingly. “Or do you want me to tell them that I have a boyfriend? Oh wait, we are acting like we have broken up so we could bring our best friends together! Should I tell them that? Let everybody into the secret?”

Jihoon’s gaze dropped to his fidgeting fingers, “Our whole relationship already felt like a secret before this,” Jihoon’s voice was a whisper and Daniel barely heard him.

“The whole campus knew we were dating, what do you mean?” Daniel’s head cocked in confusion, genuinely puzzled with what Jihoon had said. 

“I’m not talking about the university,” Jihoon sighed. “You don’t like to be seen with me in public, right?”   
  


Daniel reached to hold onto Jihoon’s hand, “No! Where is this coming from?”   
  


“You never hold my hand like this in public. I mean outside school when I say public. You introduce me as your best friend to your parents. Then when we are alone, you become the clingy-est boyfriend ever. Did you think I wouldn’t notice the duality?”   
  
Daniel was stunned by Jihoon’s words. 

“Are you embarrassed to be with me?” Jihoon looked up at Daniel, his eyes swimming with tears. 

_ Sh*t,  _ Daniel had made Jihoon cry. This was not what Daniel had intended. He didn’t know Jihoon would feel the way he did. He stared at Jihoon’s balled fist, unable to meet Jihoon’s eyes this time. A small sense of guilt nibbled at his insides. He had always wanted Jihoon to be his and his alone. But it wasn’t because he didn’t want to share, but it was more alike to his desire to protect his man from the judgement. Or was Jihoon right afterall? Had Daniel feared the judgement himself? Did Daniel hold the same judgement?

Daniel ran frustrated fingers through his hair as he sank back into the sofa, suddenly drained of all energy. He turned his away from Jihoon, the feeling of guilt slowly growing stronger.

“Since everyone already thinks our break up is real,” Jihoon began, voice so soft and brittle.

_ No, Jihoon, please don’t say it. _

“Why not use this opportunity to take a break? For real?” Jihoon resigned into his own seat.

_ NO!  _ Daniel wanted to scream out.  _ I’m sorry _ , was what he really wanted to say. But deep inside, Daniel knew Jihoon was right, as usual, like he always was. Maybe they did need this. 

“How long?” Daniel’s voice broke as he choked back a sob. The sudden rush of heat spread through his body vessel, and that was when Daniel realised how emotionally numb he was throughout the entire argument before.  _ Feelings, why must you betray me now? _

Jihoon sniffed, his own heart breaking when he heard Daniel’s voice. Like Daniel, he never intended this argument to turn out this way. His face dropped into his hands as he willed himself not to cry. “I don’t know,” he mumbled into his hands. “I really hate this.”

Daniel pulled the younger into his arms, burying Jihoon’s face into his neck as he caressed the back of his head soothingly, allowing the both of them to cry. 

  
_ They will take all the time they needed. And they will come back stronger than before. Because they were meant to be,  _ Daniel consoled himself internally before he dipped to capture Jihoon’s lips between his own for one last deep kiss, hoping that its effects would last longer this time. 


	3. Chapter 3

“He what?” Seongwu gasped. “Jihoon just pushed him and walked away?” 

Minhyun nodded, sipping on his iced grapefruitade. “Jihoon looked equally as mad as Daniel.”

“This seems much worse than we thought,” Seongwu mumbled. Jihoon had always been the most level headed between the two. No matter what, Jihoon's priority would be to calm Daniel down first so that they could talk logically after. So hearing about his reaction to what seemed like a simple misunderstanding was shocking to the pair. Maybe the root of their break up was more complex than they thought.

“I think Niel must have done something wrong,” Minhyun instigated, putting all the information they have gathered in the past few days together. “Jihoon only gets mad when someone does something really wrong. And Daniel was basically begging Jihoon to take him back the other day when he got drunk.”   
  


Seongwu hummed in agreement but realised a point of contradiction, “But Jihoon said Daniel broke it off though? Wouldn’t that mean Jihoon did something wrong?” 

Minhyun’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, conflicting thoughts were starting to make his head ache. He massaged his temples as he tried to think of a good solution. “Have you found out the reason for their breakup?”

“Jihoon said Daniel cheated on him,” Seongwu scoffed in disbelief. “How is that possible? Daniel is head over heels whipped for his Jihoonie.” 

“Daniel said that Jihoon wanted to date someone else?” Minhyun’s own voice went up in question, noticing the inconsistencies with their stories. “Something does not add up…”

Both males basked in the silence, both deeply engrossed in their own thoughts. 

And then, Seongwu snapped his fingers, eyes lighting up in realisation. “I know what is going on!”

“What?”   
  


  
  


A big stupid grin spread across Seongwu’s face.

“Everything must have been a huge misunderstanding!”

Minhyun blinked.

Then he nodded in agreement.

Seongwu wriggled his eyebrows suggestively at the other male, “And I know what we can do to get them back together.”

* * *

It was real this time. 

Daniel was feeling the constant weight of his heavy heart in his chest. The day was a blur-- he attended lectures, ate, slept. It had only been a day and he was already so drained. He dragged his feet as he walked to the cafeteria where he was supposed to meet his friends. Lunchtimes were supposed to be the happiest part of his day but Daniel couldn’t help but let the dread fill his system. 

Daniel stared longingly at Jihoon from across the cafeteria from where he sat as he felt his heart start to disintegrate. He knew that that was not physiologically possible but it sure hurts like hell. He played around with the untouched spaghetti on his plate, his mind wandering to thoughts about happier times. 

He squinted a little in the attempt to read the words escaping Jihoon’s lips as he chatted with his classmates, desperate to be part of their conversation somewhat, or at least know what he was talking about.

It was real this time. 

Daniel felt it. Jihoon was doing fine without him. Was he happier? Was he relieved that Daniel, as a weight, had been lifted off his shoulders? Had he been holding the bright male back all this time? Daniel gradually grew depressed, as if he wasn’t already sulking to begin with. 

He knew that his 2 best friends were looking at him with pity. Normally, he would have laughed when OngHwang shifted to put their shoulders together in an attempt to build a wall to block Jihoon from Daniel’s line of sight. But he was in no mood to laugh.

OngHwang...That ship name was coined by his Jihoonie. He remembered it just like yesterday when the younger boy’s eyes sparkled in excitement of the prospects of their best friends getting together.

_ “We could double date!” Jihoon was bouncing off the walls in exhilaration. _

Maybe he should’ve treated Jihoon better. Maybe he should have given him more kisses? He would give up anything to be able to see Jihoon’s smile again. 

It was real this time. 

Daniel could not be more aware of this fact. They were actively avoiding each other, not even looking each other in the eye when they passed. This was so torturous for Daniel. He couldn’t help but wonder if Jihoon felt the same. If he did, Jihoon surely didn’t show it. But Daniel knew very well how amazing of an actor his boyfriend-now-ex was. He didn’t even know the latter liked him back and Daniel’s courtship lasted a painful 3 months. But the pain he wouldn’t mind going through again if that meant that he could get Jihoon back in his arms. 


	4. Chapter 4

“Niel-hyung!” a familiar voice echoed, bouncing off the walls of the the gymnasium where Daniel was warming up for his basketball game.  


Daniel smiled at Jihoon who excitedly skipped towards him.  


“Oh, Jihoonie,” Daniel greeted-nearly cooed as the younger got closer.  


“When will your game start?” Jihoon asked.  


“A little bit later,” Daniel smiled “Are you going to watch?”  


Jihoon nodded eagerly.  


“You are cheering for me right?”  


“I actually came here for Minhyung-hyung!” he giddily replied, unzipping his jacket to reveal the jersey with Minhyun’s number on it.  


Daniel wasn’t fond of that idea. Just imagining Jihoon cheering for another male made his blood boil, even if the latter was his best friend.  


He kept his poker face but couldn’t help the cold indescribable air surrounded him.  


And Jihoon noticed Daniel’s shift in mood and smiled.  


_Mission: Make Daniel Jealous was now underway_ , Jihoon celebrated internally. He had to keep up this act or it’d go to waste. He’s going to make sure Daniel asked him out that day for he could not wait any longer. Irking others was what Jihoon did best and that was what he had planned for that day.  


But to Jihoon’s dismay, things didn’t go as planned.  


Because Minhyun had a sudden onset stomach ache and could not play leaving no one to cheer for. Instead, Jihoon kept his jacket zipped up, glowering at Daniel who was looking terribly attractive while making shots. He sore Daniel was doing that on purpose. Purposefully tensing his biceps the right way every time he shoots, smiling that child-like smile every time their team scored a point, it was almost as if he wanted Jihoon to die from a heart attack. He adorably shakes his head too when the girls around Jihoon screamed for his man. _Look at him, acting so humble._ Jihoon thought Daniel probably enjoyed the attention. And that annoyed the hell out of Jihoon.

He was jealous.

He wasn’t used to pinning after someone. It had always been other people chasing him. So why must he start now? Why couldn’t Daniel get the hint now and ask him out? His frustrating was growing, and he was feeling suffocated.  
  
  
Jihoon stormed out of the gymnasium at half time and headed to the roof. He often visited there to vent out his frustrations and anger, yelling and cursing at the sky, and this time was no different.  
  
“I need a new plan,” Jihoon grumbled as he plopped onto the floor in resignation. “Why must that darn puppy be so SLOW? I HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE LINING UP TO DATE ME AND I AM WAITING ON THIS DENSE KANG DANIEL!” Jihoon flailed his arms and kicked his legs in a fit, like a spoiled child without his candy.  
  
Jihoon laid on his back to stare at the blue sky. He brought his hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the sun and sighed. “How do I even confess? How does anyone do it?”  
  
Jihoon shut his eyes, basking in the gentle warmth from the rays of the sun. The gears in his head were turning, constructing a new plan to get Daniel’s attention.  
  
And then he heard a snicker.  
  
Jihoon opened his eyes and Daniel’s face came into view. He was standing over him, bent over to look at Jihoon. “Are you trying to get a tan?”  
  
Jihoon blinked. “What are you doing here? Don’t you have a game?”  
  
“I saw you walk out and followed you,” Daniel replied, head tilted adorably while still maintaining eye contact. “So you’ve never confessed to anyone before?”  
  
Jihoon pouted, turning his gaze away from the towering male in front of him. _How embarrassing, please let this all be my imagination._  
  
Daniel moved and settled beside Jihoon, laying on his back too. “I guess Jihoonie must be very popular then, if you never needed to confess to anyone. Who is this special person then?”  
  
Jihoon laughed awkwardly, “I don’t know what you are talking about, hyung.”  
  
Jihoon gasped when he felt the older’s fingers intertwine with his own. “Is it me?”  
  
Jihoon could feel Daniel staring at him, gaze burning hotter than the sun against his cheek. Or was it his blush? ALl he knew was that his cheeks felt like they were on fire and he really wanted them to cool down. Jihoon stayed still, playing dead, hoping that maybe Daniel will just walk away so that he could continue to wallow in embarrassment alone.  
  
As if knowing Jihoon wasn’t going to, Daniel decided to speak instead. “I like you,” He began. “I like you a lot.”  
  
Daniel rolled onto his side, resting his head in his palm supported by his elbows. “Will you be my boyfriend?” he asked lovingly, trying to shoot heart eyes at the most beautiful boy in the world.   
  
Jihoon never wanted something so much, but now that it was finally happening, Jihoon was stunned into silence, not sure as to how he was supposed to react. He realised how unprepared he actually was. Or maybe he was just surprised with the abruptness of it all. He had received many confessions before, but why did he feel like he had lost grip of his sanity? This scared him a little, the realisation of truly how much he wanted the man beside him.  
  
But Jihoon did what he does best— he gathered his composure and acted like he was unfazed. He was not going to lose this chance (neither did he want to lose his ego), so he smiled shyly at Daniel and said, “Yes.”

“I thought you were into Minhyun hyung?” Daniel teased, mischievous grin spread across his face. 

Jihoon sent Daniel a mock glare, lips pursed as his sighed causing Daniel to chuckle at how adorable he was. With a small moment of hesitation, Daniel pulled Jihoon to sit up facing him. With a voice barely above a whisper, Daniel said, “You are not allowed to look at anyone else anymore. I want you to only focus on me.” And with a moment of determination, Daniel swoops down for a tender kiss.

* * *

_Present day:_

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Minhyun hissed as Seongwu shut the door of the gymnasium and locked it. “And how did you get the key anyway? Who did you have to bribe to even get this?”

“This will work,” Seongwu fiddled with the keys clumsily, struggling to pull the key out of the lock. Minhyun sighed and reached forward to help him with it . “And besides, didn’t you agree that they should get back together? And that there was a misunderstanding?”

Minhyun had a bad feeling about this. 

“Don’t look at me like that,” Seongwu pointed accusingly at Minhyun.

“Like what?”

“Like I am stupid and you aren’t.”  


Minhyun couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, causing Seongwu to push his finger against his lips. “Shhh they will hear us!”

“I don’t see how this will help them,” Minhyun whispered. “Locking both of them in a gymnasium isn’t going to do anything.”  
  
Seongwu rolled his eyes dramatically. “What do you do to solve a misunderstanding?”

Minhyun stared blankly back at Seongwu, while Seongwu desperately nodded his head, urging Minhyun to answer. 

“...Talk?”

“Yes! And they will be forced to since we have locked them up in the gymnasium where they got together! I saw this being done in movies and they always work!”

“Seongwu-ah, firstly, movies are fictional. Secondly, even in the movies, the couples are locked up in a small room where they have no choice but to talk to each other. Thirdly, this isn’t even the place they got together. Did you forget? They got together at our basketball game BUT they were smooching their lips off on the rooftop?”

Minhyun’s quiet monologue caused Seongwu to blink in realisation. “Well, we have already locked them up in there, so we must as well watch to see what happens.” Seongwu replied, standing tip-toed to peer through the glass window on the door.

Minhyun sighed and followed suit, watching from behind Seongwu. They watched as Daniel strode towards the younger, the latter’s head jerking up in surprise when he noticed Daniel there. They started talking, but none of them could make out the words.

“What are they saying?” Minhyun whispered into Seongwu’s ear. Seongwu fought hack a flinch because his breath tickled, merely shrugging his shoulders in response.

Danhoon were deeply engrossed in their conversation. “They probably didn’t even know that they are locked in,” Seongwu commented. “All that hard work getting the keys for nothing.”

Seongwu could feel Minhyun’s chest rumbling with laughter. “Will you tell me how you got the keys?”

“Why do you want to know so bad?”

“Just curious.”

Both males fell into a comfortable silence, attention still attached to the broken couple in front of them. 

“I envied them you know?” Seongwu’s voice was reminiscent. “They were so good together and I wanted that for myself too. They were so frustratingly cute and sweet. I never felt this way before but they made me feel miserable with my own lonely life. I wanted someone there to care for me too. In fact, I wanted to care for someone in that way. I wanted a new purpose in my life. I wanted a chance to be happy and also become someone’s happiness.”

“Have you dated someone here?” Minhyun asked, chest humming. “I think that after knowing you for more than a year, I don’t think you have ever mentioned.”

“My last relationship was in high school and back then I thought I was in love,” Seongwu spoke with his voice distant. “But looking back now and comparing with with Danhoon have, I know that was just a measly relationship built on lust and desire.”

“But their relationship wasn’t perfect either,” Minhyun replied, chin jerking towards the couple in front of them who were seemingly still in heated discussion. “I mean even I thought they were perfect together and yet their break up could be as nasty as this.”

“Nasty? Oh you should have seen my break up when she cheated,” Seongwu scoffed under his breath. “It was in the cafeteria in front of the whole school. There was screaming, crying perfect storms…”

“Did you just quote Taylor Swift?”

“I’m surprised you know it.”

  
  
  
  
  


“So you are straight then?” Minhyun asked, cautiously. He knows how sore the topic was.

  


“Honestly,” Seongwu expired a big breath of air, almost as if he was resigned. “I don’t know. I used to think so but recently I have been feeling things… Do you think it is contagious? Gayness? Maybe I hung around those 2 lovebirds too much and I am slowly being influenced.”

“It’s not a disease, Seongwu-ah,” Minhyun sighed. “I admire them. I admire how they date freely. I am proud of how far they have come. Like you recall the moment Daniel turned gay for Jihoonie right? That day when he was wasted after the Freshmen’s party was epic.”

Seongwu laughed as he remembered that morning where Daniel had called them for an emergency meeting, only for Onghwang to find Daniel drunk (after some morning drinking), going on and on about the galaxies in a young freshman’s eyes. 

“I’m proud of Daniel for making it this far,” Seongwu commented, smirk lurking on his his lips. “I really hope they make up. I mean I hate seeing Daniel like that.”

Both males redirected their attention to the couple who were now sitting side by side, back towards them.

“Well, the good thing is that they aren’t fighting.” Minhyun said, turning to meet eyes with Seongwu. “Jihoon was so upset when I asked him about it. He said that he hated that Daniel always got mad first before they even start talking. It’s a good thing that they seem to be talking amicably.”  


Seongwu hummed in response. He lightly rested the back of his head against Minhyun’s shoulder, only then noticing how close they actually were. But he didn’t want to move, almost as if he craved this little bit of contact. This week of school was so taxing on him and he just wished he could get a little bit of time to recharge. But with 2 of his friends to caught up with their own relationship problems, he had no choice but to see somewhat of a solace with Minhyun instead.

Minhyun didn’t move either, but Seongwu wasn’t sure if it was because Minhyun hadn’t noticed or he actually somehow knew what Seongwu needed and allowed it.

“Look! They are hugging,” Minhyun’s voice caused Seongwu’s eyes to snap open. He had not even known that they were shut.  
  
“That’s a good sign right?” Seongwu gasped, turning to look back at Minhyun. 

  


The tips of their noses touched, causing Seongwu to flush with alarm, or was it bashfulness? It seemed like Minhyun’s eyes darted towards Seongwu’s lips for a quick second, so quick that Seongwu could convince himself that he was seeing things. 

“So you never mentioned who it was you were crushing on,” Minhyun’s voice was a low baritone, sending shudders down Seongwu’s spine. “Was it me?”

Seongwu gulped and replied defiantly, “No,” hoping that his voice would not give him away that easily.

But Minhyun did the unthinkable then, raising his hand in front of Seongwu’s view.

  
  
  
  
  


**“Then why have we been holding hands for the past 10 minutes?”**


	5. Chapter 5

“What are you doing here?” A familiar voice caused Jihoon to look up from his phone. He watched as Daniel stalked towards him, backpack lazily swung across one shoulder. He fought his urge to nag at the older like he used to, about levelling the straps of his backpack so it didn’t hang too low, about carrying it on both shoulders instead of one.  _ You will get shoulder and back pain if you continue, _ Jihoon would say, typically helping Daniel adjust his backpack on his shoulders. It was the littlest of things that Jihoon thought about nowadays. He missed the little things.

It was almost as if Daniel could see the gears in Jihoon’s mind turn because he instinctively reached backwards to pull the other strap over his other shoulder/ He stopped in front of Jihoon, looking down at the small male sat on the bleachers, “What are you doing here all alone?” He asked again.

“Seongwu hyung wanted to practice some lines,” Jihoon spoke, trying his best not to give in to his built up feelings. Seeing Daniel in his basketball jersey in front of him made him reminisce about the past, how Jihoon became the permanent cheerleader to athlete Kang Daniel. Jihoon swallowed hard, hoping that all these emotions bubbling up his chest could be forced down his own dry throat. It has been too long since they had been alone together. It has been too long since they have even spoken to each other. 

Daniel stared at the mismatched neon shoelaces on Jihoon’s trainers, wriggling probably because of Jihoon’s adorable nervous habit of wiggling his toes.  _ Ah, Jihoon must be nervous too.  _ And that thought brings comfort to Daniel for some reason, maybe he was relieved that he wasn’t the only one suffering although he hated to see his Jihoonie like so.

“I miss you a lot you know,” Jihoon spoke softly, his feet shaking more quickly now. “I was overly emotional that day and I didn’t mean to say the things the way I did.”

After a few silent moments of contemplation, Daniel sat beside Jihoon, offloading his backpack onto the ground beside their feet. 

“May I?” Daniel held his palm outstretched, hoping that Jihoon understood what he meant and luckily, he did because he placed his own hand in Daniel’s, intertwining their fingers together. Daniel rested his other hand over the back of Jihoon’s, almost as if he was preventing Jihoon from escaping his grasp. “My hand was really lonely without you.”

“I’m sure your hand was nothing but busy without me around,” Jihoon retorted with a snort, snarky smirk dancing on his lips. 

Daniel laughed, he missed Jihoon’s hit-or-miss humour; the type that few people would find funny, but Daniel always believed it was the most hilarious thing in the world. Or maybe it was because Jihoon always looked so happy when Daniel responds to his jokes? Either way, this was the first time Daniel had laughed in what seemed like years, and of course it would be because of Jihoon. 

“I have been thinking a lot these past few days and I think you are right,” Daniel began after taking a deep breath. “We need to talk all of this out. So do you think we could meet up tomorrow maybe since you are busy with Seongwu hyung today?”

“I just heard the click of the door look after you came in so I assume that locking us up here together was his plan all along,” Jihoon chuckled bashfully, hiding his face behind his hand. “And I assume that Minhyun wanted to meet you after your practice?” 

Daniel nodded, kind smile on his lips. Seems like their plan seemed to be playing out quite well after all, their best friends were meeting up to plan their reconciliation. “So could we just talk now?”

Jihoon turned to face Daniel and instinctively wiped off the small beads of water rolling down the sides of his face. “I always tell you to dry your hair properly after showering. I don’t want you getting a cold.”

“You weren’t there nagging me anymore,” Daniel’s eyes turned sad puppy like. And Jihoon could actually hear his heart break to pieces. 

Jihoon sighed, “Let’s talk. I want to start.”

Daniel smiled, ushering Jihoon to continue.

“Although I wished that I wasn’t so emotional when I said the things I said, I did mean it. This whole insecurity with Donghan being a close friend of mine, we have been arguing about this for months. And I have reassured you time and time again that Donghan is a very important friend to me. Yes, we have dated in the past but I care about you now. I felt upset at how you downplay my feelings for you as if I would cheat on you when I get the chance. I never cheated and I never planned to. You don’t trust me and it hurts. I don’t want to keep the burden of having to  **prove** my feelings for you. Because it is tiring. And I shouldn’t need to do that.”

“You are the most amazing person I have ever met, do you know that?” Daniel sighed, planting a soft kiss on the back of Jihoon’s hand. “So much so that I want you all to myself. And yet I feel unworthy. Like you deserve someone else. Someone better. The sad truth is that if you did find someone better, I wouldn’t even blame you for leaving. In fact, you don’t even need a partner at all. You do fine on your own and these past few days have proven that. But I can’t. You have become such a big part of me that I fear losing you. I want to be selfish and yet I feel undeserving. All these conflicting emotions just messes me up. And seeing Donghan with you that day caused all of these insecurities to avalanche I guess. I was so desperately missing you for days and then you appear to be so fine with someone else.”   
  
“But I wasn’t fine,” Jihoon said.

“I can see that now.” Daniel replied. 

“And you were looking fine that day too. With the girls all around you. You seemed to enjoy it.”

“I don’t know half of them Jihoon-ah. They were just there because they were discussing some party they were planning that weekend.”

“Did you go?” Jihoon asked. “To the party?”

Daniel shook his head. 

Jihoon looked like he was about to speak but clammed his lips shut very quickly, preventing his words from escaping. 

“What did you want to say?” Daniel asked. “I can tell you really want to say something.” 

“Why did you date me?”

“Why are you using past tense on me?” Daniel laughed nervously. “Almost as if we are already over?”   
  


Jihoon didn’t budge; he was seeking an answer and Daniel knew that he would get it no matter what. “You only dated girls before me, so why me?”

“You are right. I did date girls exclusively before you. But then I met you and I didn’t care that you were a man. My heart yearned like it never did before for any other girl.”

“But you do care,” Jihoon’s head lowered, staring at the ground before him. “It would’ve been so much easier for you if I had been a woman. Then you wouldn’t need to hide me all the time.”   
  
“I didn’t want to hide you,” Daniel explained. “Hell, I wanted to show you off to the world. But we live in a cruel society. I wanted to protect you, I guess. Protect you from all the judgement and hate. I guess it is my “oppa” instincts coming through.”

“Oppa?! See you do wish I was a girl!” Jihoon exclaimed teasingly, dramatically placing his hand over his heart to express his apparent heartbreak.

Daniel rolled his eyes. 

“I guess I know you never cared about the judgement since you have been dating other guys before me and for some reason, I seemed to have forgotten that fact.” Daniel continued, voice actually quite solemn. “I am sorry Jihoon-ah. I will work harder in the future, be it for you or a future someone else.”

* * *

“YOU GUYS WHAT?” 

Jihoon and Daniel merely laughed at their friends’ reactions. 

“We broke up,” Jihoon said.

“For good this time,” Daniel added for more clarity. “But we are good.” 

Seongwu and Minhyun stared at each other incredulously.

Seongwu was a sputtering mess, “B-but u guys were talking yesterday. And you guys hugged! We saw! And the lengths I went to get that darn key, and you guys broke up???”

“Hyung, we made up and we decided it be best of we remained friends,” Jihoon replied, speaking as if he was placating a whining child. “And you actually locked us up in the gym yesterday? You watched the whole thing?”   
  


Minhyun gulped, “Not the whole thing… We left when we thought both of you made up, unlocked the doors and everything!”

“Anyway, it was probably very awkward for both of you when we were broken up, right?” Daniel spoke, leaning against his elbows across the table. “We won’t put you guys through that again, so you can rest assured. We will be civil from now on.”

But this was not what Seongwu wanted. He wanted both of them to be together again. Why did he want this so much? Was it because he was projecting his hopes onto them? Maybe if they succeeded, he would be able to too?

“Are you sure you will be okay?” Seongwu asked, cautiously. 

The ex-couple nodded simultaneously, causing Seongwu to wail dramatically in despair.

“SEE! THEY ARE SO CUTE TOGETHER! WHY ARE THEY BROKEN UP???”


	6. Chapter 6

“Are we going to talk about it?”

“Talk about what?” Seongwu responded nonchalantly as he flipped through his magazine in hand, paying Minhyun no mind.

“You know what I am talking about, Seongwu-ah.”

“About how we shouldn’t give up and give it another shot?”

“Is that how you feel, Seongwu? Wait, what are you-”

“Danhoon cannot be over,” Seongwu slammed his magazine shut and tossed it onto the coffee table by his feet as he stood dramatically, placing both hands into his coat pockets. Of course he knew what Minhyun was talking about, and no way was Seongwu ready to face the looming rejection from one of God’s finest specimens. So he does what he does best, deflect and attack. “I have a new plan and I want you to help me.”

Minhyun blinked, wanting to correct Seongwu but he was interrupted once again by the other male who simply strode out of the prefects’ room, door slamming shut behind him. 

Minhyun groaned. Why did Seongwu have to be so darn frustrating? Why did this have to be this complicated? Unlike Seongwu, who actually seemed surprised by their joined hands, Minhyun was overtly aware. Seongwu’s hands were trailing Minhyun’s wrists first as they spoke. Seongwu was explaining his envy with Daniel’s and Jihoon’s relationship and had, as Minhyun learned, subconsciously, been playing with Minhyun’s wrist. 

Minhyun stayed still for a moment, surprised himself by the gesture but his body quickly relaxed automatically, comfortable and content with the slight skinship. Seongwu’s hands slowly travelled lower before resting square on Minhyun’s palm, while the latter decided to discreetly interlock Seongwu’s fingers with his. Minhyun received no reaction from Seongwu and assumed that he welcomed it. He was slightly annoyed with Seongwu’s nonchalance about it all, but now that he was aware of Seongwu’s lack of intent, Minhyun found it endearing. That small action confused Minhyun greatly because he never questioned his relationship with Seongwu before this, and now, he is beginning to. 

That night, Minhyun found himself wide awake, revisiting every moment in their friendship, over-analysing any signs he could have missed that indicated something about his or Seongwu’s feelings for each other. 

He had no clue. He desperately wanted to talk things out. He wanted to ask so many questions, he wanted Seongwu to help him sort through his own feelings. But Seongwu had opted to run away. 

This made Minhyun...disappointed. But why would he be? Could this be a clue, a hint, that indicated that what Minhyun felt for Seongwu went beyond normal friendship? Because Minhyun would have felt relieved, right? If he indeed felt like that night should not have happened? 

But now he felt more conflicted. More confused. Because he still had no answers. And it seemed like Seongwu didn’t want any himself either. 

This seemed like a horrible math problem to Minhyun, like those awful algebra formulas he struggled with in school. But why did his heart ache a little when Seongwu stormed out of the building that night?

  
  


**_After kissing him?_ **

* * *

Seongwu got very busy the next week, trying different methods to bring his best friends back together. He focused all his efforts into Daniel, the more jealous of the two, and put all his plans into work. He started with anonymously making a confession to Jihoon on the school’s confessions page. He showed it to Daniel but to Seongwu’s dismay, Daniel merely shrugged it off, saying, “I can see why. Jihoon is very handsome after all.”

That left Seongwu’s jaw unhinged with disbelief. Was this the same man who went apeshit crazy after Jihoon tweeted random heart emojis? Seongwu remembered it like it was yesterday because Daniel locked himself in his room, refusing to come out, not knowing that his boyfriend had actually been directing the heart emojis at him. (Daniel had ordered the limited edition gold plated KFC fried chicken model for Jihoon and it had been delivered that day)

Next, he bribed Sungwoon, a president of the school’s paper, to run a fake poll for most handsome face in the whole school, with Jihoon listed as first of course (and Seongwu, himself, as a close second). To this, Daniel merely congratulated Seongwu for placing in the top 2 and proceeded to show Jihoon the publication, laughing heartily at Jihoon’s win.    
  
**This was not the reaction Seongwu wanted.** So he had to try something else. 

Then, an eureka moment. Their arguments always circled around Donghan, so maybe Seongwu should do something about that. He started off by pointing out every occasion whereby Donghan was with Jihoon. (They were classmates afterall) And upon seeing Daniel’s nonchalance, Seongwu decided that extreme measures had to be taken. He put his game face on, (Minhyun watching, puzzled from the sidelines of course) and moved his lunch tray to sit beside Donghan.    
  


“Where is Jihoon?” Seongwu asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“Hi Hyung!” Donghan greeted, cheerfully. “He is meeting his group for a group project. He should be here soon.”

Minhyun placed his tray adjacent to Seongwu’s and sat beside him. Seongwu pretended to pay no notice. 

“You still like Jihoon, right?” Seongwu asked. 

Minhyun, knowing where this conversation was going, pulled on Seongwu’s sleeve in warning. “Seongwu-ah, this is going too far.”

Donghan looked Seongwu dead in the eyes. “Yes,” he replied. 

Seongwu fought back a grin, shrugging off Minhyun's grip before leaning forwards, both of his elbows in between them. “I have a proposition,” Seongwu murmured, tone alluring. (To Minhyun, it was at least.) 

“Go on, what do you have to propose?” 

“We can help you,” Seongwu spoke, conviction lacing his voice. “We'll help you get back with Jihoon.”

“And what's in it for you?” 

“We want Jihoon to be happy and we actually think that he is meant to be with Daniel.” 

Minhyun hissed, pinching Seongwu's side for a second warning. Seongwu yelped, but quickly swatted Minhyun's hand away before continuing, “But we will help you. If you prove to us that you can make our boy happy, we'll accept it and move on. Well, that's if you can get Jihoon date you again of course. We'd rather you than any other stranger.”

“You want to use me to make Daniel jealous, aren't you?” Donghan smirked in response, clicking his tongue in mock disgust. “And you think I'm too stupid to see this? You have been trying to rile Daniel up this whole week.”

Seongwu was stunned by the accurate accusation, mouth gaping like that of a goldfish.

Donghan sighed, “But I guess we can come to a consensus. If I succeed and Jihoon dates me again, you guys stop meddling and accept it. Likewise, given this chance and I still fail, I'll properly admit defeat and stop any future advances. But you guys have to help me.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (So some suggestive content ahead!)

“Yah, I heard Daniel is dating someone else now,” Donghan whispered during class. 

In response, Jihoon merely gave him a glance before returning his attention to the lecture.

“Why did you guys break up anyway?” Donghan whispered again. “I know I said that I wouldn’t be bitter anymore but you did ditch me to date him. I called dibs!”

Jihoon kept his eyes glued onto his laptop, fingers typing away on his notes. “Shut up, pay attention to the lecture.”

“What does Kang Daniel have that I don’t?” Donghan continued, ignoring Jihoon’s warning. 

“He is your sunbae, be respectful,” Jihoon muttered under his breath.

“And you are still speaking up for him,” Donghan was getting a little annoyed, even though he was the one who started the conversation in the first place. “I have heard that he had made you cry, yelled at you, done all these rude things and you are still so whipped for him. I can’t believe that--”

It was a good thing that the class started to rustle, indication that the class had ended. Jihoon whipped his head to face Donghan, eyes chillingly still. “Come with me. You want to talk? We talk.”

\---

Seongwu was fidgeting in his seat, squirming under Jihoon’s glare. Daniel joined them, sitting beside Minhyun, who was watching silently. “What’s with the tension?” Daniel asked, dropping his backpack on the floor. Daniel looked at Jihoon (and maybe his heart cooed a little at the angry jigglypuff)

“Ask Ong,” Jihoon spoke, dropping all honorifics which was something out of character. It made Seongwu shudder. Jihoon had always been someone who was too polite. Many people would think that he had a fake personality, but he was just too polite, too afraid of stepping on other people’s toes. But something that only his close circle of family and friends knew was the side of dorm!Jihoon. When he gets pissed off or you take advantage of his charity to you, he gets very scary. Seongwu had seen this before, but this time, it seemed to be directed at him. 

Daniel looked to Seongwu in question causing Seongwu to gulp nervously, hands up in surrender. Angry Jihoon was scary enough, but if he added angry Daniel into the mix, this was something he wasn’t prepared for. 

“I tried to stop him,” Minhyun crossed his arms across his chest, playful smirk dancing on his lips. He genuinely felt bad for Seongwu, but for the past few days, Minhyun was left in utter confusion and frustration. He couldn’t help but enjoy a little bit of payback. 

Seongwu turned to Minhyun, eyes widening in panic.  _ Help me _ , it seemed to scream and then a light bulb went off inside his head. 

_ You asked for it _ , Minhyun sent a message telepathically to Seongwu. 

Minhyun cleared his throat, “That’s why we should have talked about this before they found out! And even I am left confused!”

Seongwu’s face scrunched up in confusion. What was Minhyun talking about? 

Daniel broke the silence to ask, “Talk about what?”

“Seongwu kissed me last week.”

They gasped, even Seongwu, earning a smack from Minhyun. “So I think Seongwu and I should have a private chat now before we tell you anything. He had been avoiding me all week.”

And with a tug, Minhyun pulled Seongwu by the arm and walked away, leaving Daniel and Jihoon stunned in their wake. 

“What just happened?” Jihoon blinked.

“Your plan must have worked, icb.”

“Did you actually just say i.c.b out loud?” Jihoon deadpanned. “You sound so stupid.”

“You liked stupid,” Daniel retorted, before realising what he had just implied. 

Jihoon snorted, “You just admitted that you’re stupid.”

* * *

“So, you want to talk? Let's talk!” Seongwu plopped down onto the sofa sulkily. He felt tricked into this situation, but then again, he may have put himself into this situation.

Minhyun sighed and sat beside Seongwu. “Let's order some dinner for later. You are staying, right?” 

“Depends on how this conversation goes,” Seongwu grumbled under his breath, pouting. 

Minhyun sighed again, this time turning to face Seongwu, legs crossed on the sofa. “Since it seemed like you don't want to talk about it, I'll start,” Minhyun's voice sounded sad. “I am confused. I have never thought of you as anything but my friend and--”

“And here comes the rejection,” Seongwu mutters distastefully, rolling his eyes in annoyance. 

Minhyun clicked his tongue before continuing, “AND I didn't think you liked me either.” 

“Doesn't  _ everybody _ like you?” Seongwu scoffed and this was finally the last straw for Minhyun. He had suffered for a whole week, alone in his confusion. And he was determined to talk it out, regardless of Seongwu’s interference. 

Minhyun grabbed both of Seongwu’s shoulders firmly and spun him to face him. He stared straight into Seongwu’s soul, it seemed, because Seongwu stilled, not even blinking. “I want you to listen. If you say another word before I am done, I will silence you myself.”   
  
Seongwu gulped and nodded obediently. “When you kissed me, I was shocked. And then you ran off. And I was confused. I didn’t get a wink of sleep that night because I was thinking so much about it. About how I had somehow given you the wrong message. I was worried that I had hurt you unintentionally. Because after that day, even before I could apologise, you avoided the topic and pretended it never happened. And that made me frustrated and mad. But then I started thinking, why would I be so worked out about this? Wasn’t this for the best? We could be friends again without me feeling guilty about misleading you...But then I realised, maybe I never misled you, it was me who was mistaken. Because maybe I hadn’t even known it yet, how I felt about you. And to be frank, I still don’t.” Minhyun took a deep breath.

“What I want to say is let’s give this a shot? Let’s move slow and then I can figure out what I am feeling. But before I could even propose that, I need to know how you feel Seongwu-ah. Because if it turns out that you didn’t like me like this then it would be very embarrassing…”

Before Minhyun could even react, Seongwu grabbed the sides of Minhyun’s face and closed his lips with his own. They pulled apart after a few fleeting moments, “I know you said you want to take things slow but you were just too awkward and I just wanted to-- okay, I didn’t really have an excuse for this one other than the fact that I like you.” 

Minhyun smiled bashfully, “So no more avoiding me?”

“I have someone else to avoid now…” Seongwu cringed, imagining the many ways Jihoon would be planning to torture him. 

“You should go apologise now,” Minhyun took Seongwu’s hand and gave a gentle squeeze. “I’ll go with you for added protection.” 

* * *

It was so loud. So loud that Seongwu heard it through the front door. He and Minhyun planned on visiting Jihoon but immediately regretted his decision upon hearing lewd sounds coming from his apartment.

“Why’d you stop?” Minhyun asked as he appeared behind Seongwu.

“N-nothing. Y’know what, maybe this was a bad idea. We should check on Jihoon next time.”

“Don’t think of delaying this. We’re already here! And look, there are lights inside his apartment, so I’m sure he’s inside.” Minhyun said as he approached Jihoon’s door.

“N-no wait! Minhyun-ah!” Seongwoo grabbed Minhyun’s wrist but the latter had already grabbed the doorknob.

_ “Ahh~ hyung you’re really good at this! There, harder!”  _ Minhyun heard Jihoon’s voice behind the door.

“W-what is…that…is that…J-Jihoon?” Said Minhyun.

_ “Does it feel good here, Jihoon?” _

_ “Oh god! Yes, Daniel hyung!” _

Seongwu’s face burned. He felt his underarms getting damp and he knew it wasn’t because of the hot weather. He then realized that Minhyun hasn’t said anything back after asking if it was Jihoon that’s inside and he was still holding his wrist.

Their eyes met and Seongwu swore he saw a blush on Minhyun’s cheeks against his snow white complexion. But his ears definitely gave him away, they were totally red. He looked away, feeling embarrassed.

“Uhhh m-my hand, Seongwu… it’s too tight.”

“Oh! Right!” Seongwu quickly retracted his hand from Minhyun’s wrist and scratched the back of his neck.

“M-maybe you’re right. We shouldn’t go in there.”

“No, let’s go in,” Seongwu said with a smirk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Roj for writing this part and the next part of this! Yeokshi, smut king! (although it isn't really smut tho but this is the closest I will ever get to it haha *nervous laughter*) Also Roj doesn't know anything about the story line so he wrote this blind...and he hasn't read this either (narrows eyes) but he is a pro indeed... Since he won't see this, please go pester him for more content
> 
> Sorry that Mei had to bully you into writing this for us haha
> 
> A/n: the smutty part took me 3 days to edit because I had to keep taking breaks because I got so shy hahaha 
> 
> SEE I CAN"T WRITE SMUT!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut warning

“AH-HA!” Seongwu burst into the apartment, sinister grin plastered on his face. But very quickly, the smile fell as disappointment washed over his entire system. “W-what are you guys doing?”

Minhyun was quickly by Seongwu’s side, eyes tightly shut. “What did you think they were doing? I’m not opening my eyes because I don’t want to see anything!”

Seongwu blinked, trying to absorb the scene before him. Daniel was sitting on top of Jihoon, icebag in hand, and his other on Jihoon’s naked back. “What is this situation?”

“You didn’t lock the door when you came in hyung?” Jihoon turned to glare at Daniel, causing the latter to raise both arms in surrender. 

“I was in a rush?” Daniel answered meekly.

Seongwu cleared his throat and elbowed Minhyun in the ribs, triggering Minhyun to open his eyes. He had braced himself to see his 2 best friends in a compromising position, only to be … disappointed? Because Daniel was fully clothed and so was Jihoon. (Jihoon rolled his shirt down to cover his torso as he sat up after pushing Daniel off of him)

“So what were you guys doing?” Seongwu asked the two.

“Getting a massage?” Jihoon answered, blinking his bright doe eyes innocently at Seongwu. 

“Doesn’t sound like it?” Minhyun commented, blinking back. 

“What are you guys doing together anyway?” Seongwu asked, swing his finger between his friends. 

“I’ll tell you once you admit that you guys are already dating,” Jihoon crossed his arms across his chest, bratty Jihoon coming to the surface. 

Seongwu opened his mouth, ready to oblige but swallowed his words as quickly as it rose up his throat. Minhyun had suggested that they move things slow so that he could slowly discover his feelings and hence, maybe it wasn’t wise if Seongwu said anything. But the spur of curiosity spurred in his chest when he looked up to see Jihoon sitting between Daniel’s legs, the latter’s hands resting comfortably on Jihoon’s thighs. Maybe he could just say that--

“Yes we are dating!” Minhyun blurted out, stepping in front of Seongwu. “Now the curiosity is killing me. Tell me, are you guys back together?” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Jihoon had the cheekiest grin on his face, “We never broke up?”

All 3 boys whipped their heads to the youngest member of their group. (Yes, even Daniel himself)

“What do you mean never broke up?” Seongwu was puzzled. 

“I must be an amazing actor,” Jihoon replied unashamed. “And Niel hyung should join the acting department next semester!”

Daniel tugged on Jihoon’s sleeve gently, whispering in his ear, “What do you mean never broke up? We were broken up for a week remember?”

Jihoon kept his composure, smacking Daniel in the chest playfully, “I must have been  **_so_ ** good at acting that you were fooled yourself!”

Daniel’s face scrunched up in confusion. Had he been mistaken all this time? 

Whereas Jihoon made a mental note to explain to Daniel later about how his ego was on the line.

“We wanted you guys to date each other so we pretended to break up, knowing that you guys would want to put us back together!” Jihoon exclaimed, bouncing on the couch. “And my brilliant plan worked! We can double date now!”

“So you did all of this,” Minhyun’s voice was slow. “So that we could double date?” 

Jihoon had a stupid smirk on his face. 

“But there is so many lapses in logic here? Like what if I didn’t like Seongwu that way?”

“You indeed didn’t, but it changed now right?” Jihoon retorted.

“What if we didn’t want to get you guys back together?”

“Seongwu loves nielhoon too much for that to happen,” Jihoon rolled his eyes.

“W-what if..”

Daniel wrapped his long arms around Jihoon’s torso and gave the man a tight squeeze before speaking, “What Jihoon wanted to say was, we are sorry that we lied to you. We sincerely wanted both of you to be together and we are sorry if we caused you any worry or stress. Although, I feel like I was the most stressed throughout this whole ordeal…” Daniel’s voice slowly faded out as he got lost in his thoughts.

“But that does not mean that I forgive you for what you pulled with Donghan!” Jihoon bellowed. “I can’t believe you gave him false hope like that! You know how much I have already hurt him last time and you made me do it again!”

“How did you know?” Seongwu asked, guiltily.

“He told me! Said that you guys were going to help him and that he wanted to be straightforward with me!”

“So what did you do then?” Daniel murmured into his shoulder, gears in his head already plotting 101 ways to dispose a body.

“I told him that we never broke up,” Jihoon sighed, placing his hand over Daniel’s on his mid-drift. “That everything I felt for you never changed and I hoped that he could find a someone else who could make him feel everything I am feeling with you.”

Daniel giggled, squishing his face bashfully into Jihoon’s shoulder, weird sounds coming out muffled from his mouth. 

Seongwu cooed, while Minhyun gagged. 

And then, everything was alright again.

  
  


\--- the end --- 

**Bonus scenes: _Scenes that have been written but because I was so ocd about the flow of the story, I felt like it didn't fit anywhere with the switching povs_**

_ What really happened at the gym? _

“I am sorry Jihoon-ah. I will work harder in the future, be it for you or a future someone else.”

“But I don’t want you to be with anyone else,” Jihoon whined softly, playing with his fingers on his lap, although still in Daniel’s grip. 

“I don’t one anyone else either,” Daniel whispered back, bringing Jihoon’s fingertips to meet his lips. “Can you forgive me? Let me start over?”

Jihoon slowly looked up to look at Daniel’s face, soft smile playing on his lips. “These past few weeks must have been hard on you.”

“It was.”

“Let’s try again, okay?” Jihoon smiled. Daniel smiled back, releasing Jihoon’s hands to wrap his arms around Jihoon’s frame in a warm embrace. 

When they pulled apart, Jihoon said: “I am going to cry now, don’t be alarmed.”

“Why?”

“We need to put on a show for our audience right?” Jihoon replied.

“Are we still doing this plan then?” Daniel scoffed. “You are having too much fun with this.”

Jihoon’s lower lip quivered and his eyes welled up, glistening with tears. Daniel felt his heart ache at seeing Jihoon like this. Damn, his man was a hell of a good actor for him to feel this way. “My heart hurts Jihoon, so please don’t go overboard.”   
  


Daniel then risked to take a look at the window on the door, “They already left, so you can you please stop crying now?”

  
  
  
  


“Damn, I deserve an Oscar for this. What a waste!”

  
  
  
  


* * *

_ What happened before Onghwang interrupted Nielhoon’s massage?  _ _ (Rated...sort of) _

Daniel tossed and turns on his bed. He was bored. 

That’s when he felt his phone vibrates.

**[Jihoon]** :  _ Hyung r u sleeping? _

Daniel was so excited that he immediately typed out a reply, trying to mask his enthusiasm by counting 30s before sending.

**[Daniel]** :  _ I just finished taking a shower _ . _ I’m just lying down now. _

**[Jihoon]** :  _ Ah~ is that so… _

**[Daniel]:** _Why the sudden text?_

**[Jihoon]** :  _ Hyung… _

…I miss you

Daniel felt a thud in his chest. He blinked his eyes to hoping that the message on his screen wasn’t a figment of his imagination. If he was trying to hide his excitement earlier, this time he lost it. He quickly pressed call and rang Jihoon’s number.

_ “H-hyung?” _

“I miss you too!” Daniel suddenly blurts out.

_ “I…that was…too direct hyung.”  _ Jihoon stuttered, clearly taken aback by the call.

“I-I’m sorry. I got too excited when I saw your message.”

_ “Haha that's cute, Niel hyung. I really wish I can see you right now.” _

“Can I…come over then?”

_ “Can you? I mean it's okay if you can't.” _

“I will! Give me 20 minutes! No wait…make it 10!”

_ “Hyung wait—”  _ Daniel couldn’t react fast enough to Jihoon’s voice when he abruptly ended the call in a rush to change into a casual outfit.

He picked out a pair of jeans, a shirt and Jihoon’s favorite red plaid from his wardrobe before dialling for Jihoon again while changing his clothes.

“Jihoon-ah! I'm sorry I cut you off.”

_ “I-it's okay! I was just gonna say you don't have to hurry.” _

“But I want to hurry. I really want to see you so bad.”

_ “M-me too. Hurry up, then?” _

“I will be there quick. Promise.” Daniel said and finally buttons his jeans.

_ “Okay, hyung..” _

“I will end the call now, okay?”

_ “Okay.” _

Daniel was definitely expecting speeding tickets in the mail in the next week.

  
  


When he reached Jihoon’s apartment, he paused to catch his breath before knocking on the younger’s door.

_ Knock, knock.  _ “Jihoon?”

The door burst open right after the mention of the name.

“Hyung! You’re really fast! Wait, why are you panting? Were you running?”

While waiting for the elevator, Daniel had lost his patience and opted to take the stairs instead. But before he could explain, Jihoon smiled at him and pull him inside his apartment.

“Sit down and I’ll get you something to drink.”

Jihoon guided him on the couch but Daniel won’t have it. He’s not wasting any second. He even rushed to come here to see Jihoon as soon as he can.

He held the younger’s wrist before they stepped into the kitchen.

“Hyung..?”

“I don’t need water. I need…you.”

Before the younger could even react, Daniel pulled him close, landing him on his lap.

“What are you doing?”

“You missed me right?”

“I-I do but ooff—”

Daniel went in and planted his lips to onto Jihoon's, cutting off his words.

Jihoon's hand flew to Daniel's arm with a bit of pressure, trying to push himself off of the latter. 

But Daniel was strong and…hungry for Jihoon. And when he felt the Jihoon’s lips leaving his, he chased it, not ready to let go go of the soft texture that was his Jihoon’s lips.

“H-hyung…” Jihoon tried to reason in a muffled voice.

That’s when Daniel realised that he may have taken things too far, too fast. So he detached himself from the younger.

“I'm sorry, Hoon-ah…”

“N-no! It's okay! It's just…”

Jihoon lowered his head, face flushed and fingers fidgeting.

_ He's so cute!  _ Daniel thought.

“…you don't need to be hasty. Since you are already here, maybe you can stay the night and...”

Daniel felt his heart drop a decibel. Jihoon was basically inviting him to stay for the night, causing a smile to form on his face.

“ Alright. I just couldn’t help myself seeing you.”

“Believe me, hyung. Me too, but just let me wash up real quick and you get some rest. What were you thinking running here?”

“You, of course.”

“Stop teasing!” Jihoon said then giggled

The 1800 seconds was painfully long. So long that Daniel almost punched a hole in his phone while intensely rage-tapping his game. Daniel never considered himself an impatient main, but he truly felt on the brink of insanity.

Then finally, Jihoon came out of the bathroom, towel on his wet hair, dressed in a loose white shirt and black shorts. Daniel gulped at the sight.

“Hyung, do you want to go and grab something to eat?”

_ Jihoon-ah, why must you torture me like this? _

“Uhhh n-no. I’m not hungry.”

“Really? Hmm okay.”

_ Damn it. _

Daniel stood up from the bed and took 3 long strides towards Jihoon whose back was now facing him. He snaked his arms around the latter’s waist wrapping him into a back hug. Jihoon smelled of soap and Daniel grew increasingly desperate.

“H-hyung..!”

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” he said and latches his noses on the younger’s neck.

“W-what do you mean?”

“You’re teasing me!”

“I-I don’t know…what you’re talking about.”

“Fine. If you want me to say it then I will. Yes! I’m hungry! But I don’t want food.  I want Jihoon.” Daniel pouted and whined. He felt the younger’s shoulders shake with laughter.

“That bad?”

“So bad I can eat you whole right now.”

“That’s too much, hyung.”

“Sorry. But, Hoon-ah…”

“Hmm?”

“You smell so good right now.” Daniel then goes to sniff Jihoon’s neck again this time, with his lips brushing the younger’s skin.

“H-hyung…w-what…hmmm…”

Hearing Jihoon’s moan, Daniel decided to release the urge to continue. He kisses Jihoon’s neck up to the back of his ear and nibbled on it.

“Haaa~” Jihoon let out.

Getting more turned on, Daniel slides his hand inside Jihoon’s shirt caressing the milky soft skin, hands running over the ridges that were Jihoon’s hard abs. His fingers trailed all the way up to the nipple which caused the younger to gasp.

“Jihoon-ah…” 

“Hyung…” 

Their voices were low and full of lust.

Daniel spun Jihoon around to face him. And as soon as he did, he lifted the white loose shirt off of him and caught the younger’s lips immediately. He nibbled on them and made his way in as soon as Jihoon opened up.

The sucking sounds complimented the moans that were getting louder. Daniel swore that the heat between them actually caused the whole apartment to rise in temperature. He took his own shirt off quickly,, somehow without losing contact with Jihoon’s lips.

As the lustrous act continued, Daniel’s hand travelled further south of Jihoon’s back until he groped the cheeks of Jihoon’s bottom. This made the younger jerk a little, causing their fronts touch. He felt Jihoon hard on against his own and smirked in success.

Daniel continued to feel Jihoon’s ass, keeping the contact of their clothed members below. The younger, now heavily turned on, started rubbing himself onto Daniel.

“H-hyung…”

Daniel took that as the go signal to take the next step. So he grabbed Jihoon by the waist and effortlessly lifted him off the ground. Jihoon wrapped his legs instinctively around Daniel’s waist and the latter grabbed onto Jihoon’s thick thighs for support. 

Without detaching their lips, Daniel carried Jihoon and started walking toward the bed. 

But because he could not see what was ahead…

“Ack!” Jihoon jerks.

“Oh my…I’m sorry, Jihoon!”

Jihoon’s back hit the metal handle of his cabinet. Daniel let the younger down immediately and to take a look at younger’s back. It must’ve been because they’re naked that it made Jihoon’s skin red so easily, there was no bleeding but it looked like it hurt a lot.

“You okay?”

“It kind of hurts…” Jihoon said holding his back.

“It’s so red! I’ll get some ice, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay, hyung.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“Well that was one way to break the mood?” Jihoon chuckled. He’s now lying on his chest, a pack of ice on his back while Daniel sits on the side of the bed, now dressed..

“I’m sorry.” Daniel said, head low.

“What are you saying sorry for? It was an accident. Plus, I had a good time?”

“Really?”

“We can always do it next time. Can we, hyung?”

“Ah, right! Uhmmm…how about I give you a massage then? You know to make it up?”

“That a good idea, hyung.” Jihoon said and smiled.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_ What happened after Onghwang left? _

Daniel… slept over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end! First ever collab, meant to be completed in NWM but we failed haha 
> 
> Thank you to Roj for the smut! 
> 
> Thank you everyone for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Leave us any comments and questions below!
> 
> Also, follow us on twitter!  
> @lykelee171  
> @purplyheartz


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